Groups push for additions to Google Buzz settlement

21.04.2011

The FTC should also require Google to build privacy protections into its Chrome browser and get opt-in permission before collecting personal data, members of the groups said.

Google should apply privacy protections to its "entire suite" of products, including its AdMob mobile advertising system and its Android mobile operating system, said Jeffrey Chester, executive director at the Center for Digital Democracy. "We want to see a complete sweep, from top to bottom, where Google offers new controls for users about how it targets them," he said.

Google used personal data from its Gmail product to populate Buzz without getting permission of Gmail users. In some cases, Google shared personal information with Gmail users' ex-spouses, employers and doctors, FTC officials said.

Google declined to comment on the privacy campaign, instead referring to its .

But Steve DelBianco, executive director of e-commerce trade group NetChoice, said he's concerned that the FTC and privacy groups are pushing the Google settlement as a standard for the e-commerce industry. While Google may be able to live with tough restrictions on how it uses consumer data, smaller companies and new businesses may find the standards stifling, he said.